The present invention relates to a secondary ion mass spectrometry apparatus and in particular to the secondary ion mass spectrometry apparatus which employs surface mass spectrometry using ion irradiation.
This type of secondary ion mass spectrometry apparatus, as disclosed in JP-B-53-2599, takes the operating steps of irradiating primary ions to a sample surface from a primary ion source and conducting secondary ions ejected from the sample to a mass spectrometer for analyzing an impurity contained in the sample.
And, the spectrometry conditions on which this spectrometry apparatus operates have been set by a skilled operator on his or her own experience.
If, however, the operator erroneously sets the spectrometry conditions, such a spectrometry apparatus is uncapable of supplying effective data in some fields such as sensitivity, vertical resolution, and area to be analyzed (even vertically). Data analysis, therefore, requires annoying work, resulting in causing erroneous analysis or consuming meaningless time in measuring it again. Hence, the secondary ion mass spectrometry apparatus is an effective analyzing tool, though, it often seems that the apparatus requires annoying work for the data analysis. Further, how to estimate a requisite time largely depends on the skill of the operator. For example, it is necessary to determine when the spectrometry finishes based on the output data while the apparatus analyzes the sample.
The secondary ion mass spectrometry apparatus, therefore, constantly requires an operator, so that it is uneconomical. And, the apparatus has a shortcoming in that it supplies ineffective data if too short time is specified for the analysis of a sample or, as a rule, requires unnecessarily long time for the analysis if too long a time is specified.